The Weekly Dump 2.28.20

The Dumpster Fire is About to Explode

The local dumpster fire known as the “Recall of Drew Glover and Chris Krohn” has reached a boiling point this week, and by this time next week the pyroclastic flow of progressive rhetorical hate and misguided blame will belch forth and suffocate us all like an overflowing toilet. The desperation that seems to pour out of Glover and Krohn from their daily bleats on social media is laughable. By the time I report in next week, here’s what’s gonna happen. Most likely scenario, we’ll have 2 new city council people and a handful of local progressive halfwit conspiracy theorists (who Glover and Krohn rake up like low hanging fruit) will be really upset about it. On the other hand, maybe only one of them gets recalled and the other doesn’t. I think this is less likely, but if it happens, I’d bet Krohn gets spared and Glover gets sent packing. If only because Krohn only has less than a year left, and while I think he’s an idiot, he’s less offensive than Glover in general. The long shot is the recall fails and they both carry on. But given the fact that over 11,000 people signed a petition just to get to this point, I’m guessing they plan to vote Yes on the recalls as well. That’s like spotting someone a 10,000 vote lead before you start. I’ve also noticed one side is getting much more desperate with their lies and spreading misinformation, while the other is hammering away like a nail gun with their message and ignoring the white noise. We’ll see next week how this plays out and who mobilized their side the best. Either way, this is about to get real interesting.

And with that said, I’m going to hand the mic off to Leonie Sherman to drop for me.

(This letter was recently posted in the local Good Times by Leonie Sherman, a popular progressive woman who ran for the Santa Cruz city council in 2014. I excerpted some of the letter here – BD)

A Personal View on the Recall of Drew Glover
By Leonie Sherman

City Councilmember Chris Krohn responded to Supervisor Ryan Coonerty’s guest editorial endorsing the recall in the Santa Cruz Sentinel by reaching out to his email list. Krohn asked us what we thought of the opinion piece and encouraged us “speak from your heart” and “speak your own truth.”

That’s why I’m going public about the verbal abuse and physical intimidation I experienced from Councilmember Drew Glover. I’ve been silent out of political alliance with the local progressive community, and out of fear that people would minimize my experience or attack me for sharing it. I’m writing because I love Santa Cruz, and I want residents to make an informed decision about who we want representing us when we vote in the March 3 election. After I ran for City Council in 2014, a lot of people wanted me to run again, which I was unwilling to do. As an olive branch to the progressive community, I let Drew Glover rent a room in the 700-square foot trailer I call home, during his first bid for a City Council seat in 2016.

I keep a tidy home. Drew didn’t share my aesthetic, or pitch in much with chores. After he’d been living with me less than a month, I came home from a weekend away to find seven milk crates full of political flyers in the living room. He wasn’t home, so I called and asked when he would have it cleared out. When he got back to my place, he yelled at me for 45 minutes, telling me I was a controlling nag, my requests were ridiculous and his important political work should excuse him from cleaning up after himself. The next day, I told him I never wanted to experience anything like that again and gave him 30 days’ notice. Over the following two weeks, he started doing more chores. When I checked in, he apologized and asked if he could stay. I agreed. After a few weeks, he stopped helping out as much, but I didn’t want to kick him out while he was campaigning. When the election was over, I asked him to go, and we agreed on a date.

He was supposed to move out on a Monday. By Friday, he hadn’t packed a single box, and I checked in to make sure he was still going to be able to move out on the date we agreed to. He said he was. Sunday night at 10pm, he still hadn’t mobilized. I asked him if he was going to be able to have all his stuff out the next day, and he told me he was planning to stay an extra 10 days. I told him I needed him to move out on the date we agreed to. He already had a new place to live, he hadn’t asked for an extension, and I didn’t want to live with him anymore.

Drew started yelling about my white privilege, how I was part of the landlord class, how selfish and inconsiderate I am, my low standing in the community, how he’d heard how awful I was from people I considered friends and now he understood what they meant. I’m trained in conflict resolution, so I stayed calm and non-reactive. I insisted he honor our agreement, as I didn’t want to live with him any longer than necessary. I offered the alternative of him taking a week to move his stuff out while he stayed at his new place. He continued to yell at me, but the next day he packed up all his stuff and moved out.

A few days later, he came by to get some things he’d left in the yard. He asked for his security deposit. I told him I had 30 days from his move-out date to return the deposit, and I needed some time to figure out how much the minor damage he caused would cost me to repair. He started yelling again. This time he got up in my face, towering over me as he yelled at me to return his deposit immediately.

Even though Drew outweighs me by at least 50 pounds, I wasn’t scared. I have more than two decades of self-defense training and knew I could handle things if they got physical. I remember standing on my porch while he loomed over me, gesticulating wildly, demanding money and thinking, “Where did Drew learn that yelling and using his size to intimidate people is an appropriate way to get what you want?”

The truth is it’s from interactions like ours that Drew learned verbal abuse and physical intimidation are effective. Because when he was done yelling at me, I went into my house and wrote him a check. I calculated that no amount of money was worth the risk and unpleasantness of repeating a similar incident.

Drew behaves like this because it works; he gets his way. If we allow him to remain in office, we, as a town, are encouraging him to continue this behavior. Some insist this recall isn’t about conduct, but Drew has shown us a pattern of verbal abuse and harassment. He’s demonstrated that he has no intention of changing that behavior.

The full letter can be read here.

Fix Your Car Dummy

Last Saturday, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies stopped a car in the area of 40th Avenue and Clares Street for a vehicle code violation. During a search of the car, they found two loaded handguns, pills, over two pounds of marijuana, a scale and other cannabis products. The guns were not registered to the driver, who was arrested for carrying a loaded handed gun, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful transport/sale of marijuana. His bond was set at $10k and yup, he’s out of jail already.

Stabbing Sends Victim to Trauma Center

Last Sunday, SCPD responded to a report of a fight between 2 adult males in the 200 block of Gault Street. When officers arrived, they found a male victim who had been stabbed multiple times, with severe injuries to their upper body and midsection. Officers identified a suspect who was still on scene and interviewed other witnesses in the house. The investigation revealed the suspect and victim are roommates and got into an argument, which escalated into one man stabbing the other man repeated times. The victim was taken to Dominican and received emergency surgery before being transported to a trauma center, where he is currently in ICU. The 28 year old suspect was arrested and booked into county jail for attempted murder.

Turnstiler of the Week

Sunday afternoon around 2:30PM, a 59 year old male was arrested on the 2300 block of Mission Street for being drunk in public, resisting arrest, and battery on a peace officer. He’s been arrested locally 58 times since 2014. I think that might be a new all time mugshots record for Santa Cruz. Definitely worthy of the Turnstiler of the Week award. The county could generate power with all the turning his turnstile does.

Hit and Run Killer Arrested in Watsonville

Tuesday night, Watsonville Police arrested a 26 year old male who hit and killed a pedestrian in the area of Freedom Boulevard between Lincoln and Marin Streets around 9PM that evening. The suspect was driving southbound on Freedom Boulevard when a 38 year old male was struck by his Acura and died at the scene of the crash. While fleeing from the scene, the driver was involved in a second collision with another vehicle. The driver in this crash was not injured. As officers were investigating the hit and run death, the suspected driver returned to the scene of the fatal crash and turned himself in. He was arrested for felony hit and run. His bail has been set at $10,000.

That’s all an innocent human life is worth now in Santa Cruz. $10k. Sad.

Serial Burglar Released to Keep Burglarizing People

This Monday, Santa Cruz Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 27 year old male and charged him with two counts of burglary. Detectives found the suspected thief stole from homes he was hired to work on. In one case, he was hired by residents for outdoor work. Once the family left, he entered the home through a back window and stole various items. In another incident, he was hired by a construction company to help with the remodel of a bathroom and kitchen. He returned to the residence two days later and stole jewelry from the home. He’s out of jail on a $25K bond. Probably stole the bond money from someone too.

Atlas Shrugged

Early Thursday morning, Scotts Valley Police were on patrol when they noticed a woman in a vehicle trying to avoid being noticed in a business complex. K9 Atlas got triggered so they searched the vehicle, where they found a half ounce of meth. She was arrested.

Defined by Hypocrisy and Willful Ignorance

It’s a pretty sad sight to see fake feminist meat puppet Ann Simpleton flailing around on social media trying to defend the shitty behavior of Drew Glover and Chris Krohn. Let’s remember, she voted unanimously in favor of censuring Drew Glover last September! Now she whines it’s all some big conspiracy theory by recall advocates (the willful ignorance part). The minutes from her September meeting just validate the hypocrisy part.

I’d call that an AYE for an eye!

Say Adios to the Circle Church

This week, the city council unanimously decided to not deem the ratty old Circle Church “historical”. That place has been a dump and a public eyesore for years. How many RVs are still living on the property in the parking lot now? And it was the same gaggle of tired old gasbag progressives fighting this and holding up any new housing being built, affordable or otherwise. The group that holds title to the property plans to build between 12 single and 30 family homes. The decision to designate this location as historic could have stopped the development of affordable housing. The Santa Cruz City Historic Preservation Commission voted against historic status. Last month, the group voted unanimously against listing it historical and recommended the city council to not list it. City staff also recommended the Circle Church not be listed on the city’s historic survey. The city’s requirement for landmark building designations is that they carry a greater significance in terms of architecture or history. Of the more than 600 buildings and structures listed on the city’s historic building survey, 26 carry the landmark designation.

Missing Woman’s Car Found in Davenport

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help locating a missing woman. Janice “Nomi” Kent was last seen around 2PM on Monday. She was wearing a tan colored hoodie, white t-shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes, according to deputies. Her car was found in the Davenport area, but last time I checked she hadn’t been found yet.

Talk Talk Talk Talk

All you do to me is talk talk! The Santa Cruz Police Department will host three Town Hall meetings in March to get feedback from residents on the proposed Public Safety Quality of Life Ordinance Package. The town hall series takes place on:

• Monday, March 9th at Delaveaga Elementary School
  1145 Morrissey Blvd, Santa Cruz, CA 95065
• Wednesday, March 11th at Louden Nelson Community Center
  301 Center St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
• Thursday, March 12th at Peace United Church
  900 High Street, CA 95060

Each session takes place from 6:00-7:30PM.  The meetings are an opportunity for the community to meet with Chief Mills and command staff, who will discuss city-wide public safety, an overview of police initiatives, and quality of life issues affecting neighborhoods.

Weekly Shoutouts and Thanks!

Thank you to Butch Baker and Elizabeth Butler for making the ultimate sacrifice for your community. You will never be forgotten. Thanks to Leonie Sherman for showing others what a real progressive feminist looks like. And thanks to each and very person who voted Yes on the recalls.

Support the Recall Effort!

The recall effort was successful at getting to the ballot but the real work has begun to see this effort to the finish line. Please consider a donation to Santa Cruz United, the group that worked to organize the recall effort. I support their efforts as a group, and I pledge to provide my services pro bono to the recall effort. If we all step up, we will finish this effort successfully and bring function back to a completely dysfunctional city hall. Thanks!

The Santa Mierda Podcast Network

Be sure to check out the Santa Mierda Podcast Network! You can find the Santa Mierda Podcast Network on SoundCloud. And Apple Music. And Spotify. It’s free so check it out and give it a listen!

Check Out Our Twitter Feed for More Mierda!

Be sure to check out and follow our Twitter feed for even more mierda! Even though the Dump only comes your way once a week, I try to post breaking news and updates on other days as well. So check us out and follow us on Twitter for even more updates about real time news in Santa Cruz you might not otherwise hear about.

Get The Dump Delivered Each Week!

Don’t forget you can sign up and have the Weekly Dump automatically delivered to your email each week! Just click that little box in the bottom right corner of any page that says “Follow the Weekly Dump!” and sign up! All we need is an email.